How to Make Your Own Body Butter!

A year or two ago I learned that most body care products are made with a lot of chemicals in order to make them shelf-stable, make them smell nice and so they absorb into the skin quickly. The problem is, skin is an organ and we absorb 60% of everything we put on our skin. That means our liver is having to process all sorts of chemicals and fragrances and even worse, some of those chemicals can disrupt our hormone balance. I have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (TMI, I know, sorry) which is caused by a hormone imbalance and since there is no cure for PCOS I am always doing what I can to balance my hormones naturally.

I switched to some “natural” brands of lotion only to find out they pretty much had the same ingredients as regular lotion. So then I just switched to using plain coconut oil for a body moisturizer which I was happy with until I found out how easy it was to make your own super hydrating body butter!

I ordered all my ingredients from Amazon and spent about $30 (I already had the coconut oil from Costco). This batch made 2 8 ounce containers but I still have enough ingredients left over to make probably 12 more containers. So I did some math and that’s about $2 per 8 ounce jar of lotion! Jars of lotion similar to this easily cost $40-$50 so this is a HUGE savings and really, really easy to make.

I do have to give some disclaimers on this body butter. First, there aren’t any preservatives so this isn’t the kind of lotion that will last for years under the bathroom sink. It’s better to make small batches more often. Second, some of these oils turn liquid in warm temperatures. So in Utah in the winter I’m having no problem leaving my jar on my bathroom counter. In the summer however, I’ll have to either move it to the fridge or come up with a summer version that uses less liquid oil. Same goes for travel. I definitely wouldn’t pack this in a suitcase unless I was going somewhere cold. And last, there isn’t alcohol in this lotion so it’s not going to soak in quick like regular lotion. It will feel greasy (which I personally love) and take several minutes to soak in. That just means you have to spend a little extra time rubbing it in. A little goes a long way too.

I will say the ingredients in this body butter have some amazing benefits! Shea butter and cocoa butter soak into the deeper layers of the skin as opposed to just sitting on top of the skin. This means they can actually fade scars and stretch marks! And I swear it gets rid of cellulite too, but that’s just a personal observation. Oops, I mean…what is cellulite? I have never heard of that?! Oh and cocoa butter smells like chocolate and you can use it to MAKE chocolate so that’s a triple win in my book. If you don’t like the smell of chocolate you are crazy. Just kidding! I was going to say you can use mango butter instead which I haven’t used yet but I’ve heard it’s equally incredible.

Ok, here’s what you need:

Jars to put the lotion in. I used these short, wide 8oz mason jars I found at Target. Easy to reach the bottom and easy to fill.

A large glass bowl

A pot to boil water in (the glass bowl will need to sit on top of the pot)

A mixer (I used a hand mixer)

1/2 cup cocoa butter or mango butter

1/2 cup shea butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup almond oil

Cocoa butter is about as hard as a rock so I now see why it is also sold in little chucks (which is more expensive). I’m a cheapskate so I bought a solid jar of it and used an ice cream scoop to scrape it out. That was the most difficult part of the process.

Directions: Combine all 4 oil’s in the glass bowl. Boil some water in the pan and then turn the heat down so the water simmers. Place the glass bowl on top of the pot and stir the oil until they are all melted and stirred together. Next, CAREFULLY remove the glass bowl from the pot of water and put it in the refrigerator. Use hot pads and don’t burn your hands! Let the mixture cool for 1-1.5 hours. Check it often because you want it to get to the point where it’s no longer runny. If it gets too cold you’ll have to start all over melting it.

Now for the fun part! Once it’s cooled off and no longer runny get your mixer and start mixing just like you are making frosting! It even smells like frosting! And in my case, flies all over the kitchen just like frosting! But don’t eat it! Just wipe the splattery bits on your arm. Keep mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until fluffy. It should only take a couple minutes. If it’s still too runny stick it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes and then mix again.

Scrape the butter into jars and enjoy!

Scrape as much as you can out of the bowl, off the spatula and off the mixer. You don’t want to get a bunch of oil down the drain. When you do dishes rinse with a lot of hot water. You’re hands will be so soft after doing those dishes!

Combine all 4 oil’s in the glass bowl. Boil some water in the pan and then turn the heat down so the water simmers. Place the glass bowl on top of the pot and stir the oil until they are all melted and stirred together. Next, CAREFULLY remove the glass bowl from the pot of water and put it in the refrigerator. Use hot pads and don’t burn your hands! Let the mixture cool for 1-1.5 hours. You want it to get to the point where it’s no longer runny. If it gets too cold you’ll have to start all over melting it.

Once it’s cooled off and no longer runny get your mixer and start mixing just like you are making frosting! Keep mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until fluffy. It should only take a couple minutes. If it’s still too runny stick it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes and then mix again.

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4 thoughts on “How to Make Your Own Body Butter!”

This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to make this, but was wondering, I already have sunflower oil, and have read it can sometimes be substituted for almond oil. Do you think that would be the case for this recipe?

Hi, I wanted to make this as a Christmas gift for someone! 🙂 thanks for sharing this easy to read recipe! Cute writing 🙂 I just wanted to see how long this would be shelf stable for… I was hoping the person could have it for a month or two (if they don’t use it all up by then!) I live in SoCal, but it’s cooler here around December/jan so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? I just don’t want them to take it home and then it melts on them lol. Also, when do you think I should make the batch so that it’s the most presentable? Should I make it the day before, or could I make it a week or two before and there’s no difference in the quality of its appearance? Thank you! 🙂

Hi! Oh I’m so glad you are going to try this! This stuff is shelf stable for a really long time! I made my last batch in May and I’m just now finishing it-so 5 months about! I recommend using my “better body butter” recipe because it’s better in warm or cold weather and will just last longer. You can make it a week or two before you give it away and it will be perfect! Good luck! Laura